Apple is out for Samsung blood and visa versa through the courts over patent infringement as you are probable aware, with Apple throwing their toys out of the pram claiming Samsung has copied the look and feel of Apple’s beloved iOS gear, while Samsung hit back with their own counter lawsuits and the fight continues.
The latest development in this legal spat between to two mobile giants according to a report on Bloomberg is that old Sammy has drawn in their guns a bit and given ground by dropping the US counter lawsuit against Apple.
I’m fairly sure most who follow the mobile space even if you are not one of the iOS faithful or Samsung faithful know about the dispute between the two manufacturers and how it this patent fight escalated with Apple recently striking at Samsung on their home ground in South Korea.
According to Nam Yi Yung, a spokesperson for Samsung, Samsung dropped its US lawsuit against Apple on the 30th of June and the reason for doing so is apparently “to streamline the legal proceedings,” whatever that might mean.
However, apparently Sammy isn’t caving in to Apple altogether, as the company will continue to defend their patent right via counter claim in the suit filed by Apple in California earlier, with Yung stating, “Samsung will continue to actively defend and protect our intellectual property.”
The argument over Samsung copying the look and feel of the iPhone and Apple iPad now takes in the legal wranglings in five countries including Samsung’s home ground South Korea, the United Kingdom, Germany and Japan, but Samsung dropping the case in the US will not affect the legal action in those other countries.
Apparently when approached by Bloomberg for a comment, Seoul based Apple spokesperson Steve Park, declined to comment.
No doubt even though Samsung has given a little ground to the might of Apple in this patent battle, the legal dispute will continue for some time yet and who knows how it will eventually end, but I would say that sooner or later Apple and Samsung needs to get round a table an thrash this out face to face and get it resolved.
In my opinion far too much time, effort, and money is thrown at all these legal disputes in the mobile space, not just Apple and Samsung but all the manufacturers who take the legal high ground. Personally if one manufacturers devices look and feel like another manufacturers devices, big deal, so what, most smartphones and tablets resemble each other anyway, don’t you agree?